The human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV1) affects 1.4 million patients in the US and over 33 million worldwide. The human and monetary costs of this disease compel the development of new therapies leading to a cure. The long half-life of latent reservoirs of HIV1-infected cells is the main barrier for virus eradication. One current therapeutic strategy is to activate latent reservoirs of HIV1-infected cells while treating them with Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). PKC activators (phorbol esters) or interleukins (IL-2, IL-7) are examples of agents used for this purpose. However, the high toxicity and poor efficacy of these agents has impeded their development in the clinic. The foregoing shows that there is an unmet need for activating latent reservoirs of HIV-infected cells.
The human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is associated with Adult Tcell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), a very aggressive malignancy. HTLV patients with acute subtypes of ATL have a poor prognosis due, in part, to chemotherapy resistance, and to immune deficiency leading to the development of opportunist diseases. The foregoing shows that there is an unmet need for therapeutic agents for treating or improving the survival of ATL patients.